MUSIC NEWS

Top 50 Americana & Roots Albums of 2020 | DittyTV
By Sam Shansky In a year marked by sickness, pain, unrest, and inevitable adaptation, we can only say thank you to all of the artists in the Americana & Roots music world for sharing your songs, your voices, and your hearts. This is DittyTV’s list of the Top 50 Americana & Roots Albums of 2020. 1. Marcus King – El Dorado (Fantasy Records) Thoughts: refer to last name, “Oh shit, this is good,” Easy Eye

World Premiere Video: “My Own Piece of Heaven” by Johnny Chops
When he isn’t holding down a solid groove playing bass or writing with the Randy Rogers Band, Johnny Chops is charting his own path through the muddy waters of a soul soaked, roots rock revival. In the face of the global pandemic and virtual shutdown of the live music industry, Chops and his wife, Andy, channeled their creative energies to confront this new reality with a positive message, stating simply, “Hope is Contagious Too,” a

5 Things You Didn’t Know: Nicole Atkins
Continuing our new series, 5 Things You Didn’t Know, we feature Nicole Atkins this week. Her album, Italian Ice, was released in late May and was her second on the Single Lock Records label. It was co-produced by Atkins and Ben Tanner and was recorded in large part in the Muscle Shoals area of Alabama. Now let’s find out what you don’t know about the New Jersey native. 1. I once snuck in to the PGA

Americana Music Association Announces Awards
With no Americana Music Association awards ceremony and no in-person Americana Music Festival & Conference week in 2020, the association released its 2020 award winners Dec. 15 without much fanfare. If you missed the announcement on the AMA’s website or on its social media pages, you can get a look at the winners here. Categories are listed below with all nominees. Winners are in bold. Album of the Year “AND IT’S STILL ALRIGHT” Nathaniel Rateliff,

DittyTV Presents: A Very Americana Christmas Playlist
So much holiday music, so little time! We have a gift for Americana & Roots music fans that will keep on giving this season. With 100 awesome songs, by the time you finish this playlist, you’ll be ready to start it again. Whether you’re having a holiday meal, wrapping gifts, or just relaxing in front of the fireplace, this list has all your favorite artists, including Phoebe Bridgers, Brandi Carlile, Rodney Crowell, Bob Dylan, Valerie

World Premiere Video: “The Hard Road” by Ben Rice
Singer-songwriter and producer Ben Rice grew up in New York City in the early 2000s obsessed with baseball and rock n’ roll. He was just in time to savor an iconic run of Yankees championships, and relish Gotham’s rock renaissance epitomized by The Strokes. For Rice, these cultural touchstones were as American as apple pie. Today, New York is very different, yet the spirit of the city remains. The Brooklyn-based artist embraces big city Americana